Why Skyward Sword was better than Twilight Princess

[Iridescence]

• TP's realistic graphics were more appealing in the short run, but colorful cel-shaded art (like from SS) will age better in the long run.
• SS wins on personality. The characters were colorful and the animation was excellent whereas most of the characters in TP were awkwardly animated and looked like they were strung out on heroin half of the time.
• SS's art style also extended to the items, characters and enemies which seemed to get entirely new designs - compared to TP which merely repeated the same designs from MM and OOT.
• SS's motion controls may spaz out at times but they are more innovative and immersive than TP's lazily tacked on controls.
• SS had an orchestral soundtrack whereas TP only had simplistic MIDI beats.
• Both games have filler and pacing issues, SS's happens later in the game and TP's happens right at the beginning. SS at least lets you enjoy the game before it taxes your time.
• I'd rather deal with filler after I got acquainted with a game than have to deal with it before I even get hooked and immersed in it.
• And the amount of filler in SS is somewhat exaggerated. On my 2nd playthrough, I beat the 5th dungeon (Sand Ship) at the 15 hour mark without rushing. That's not bad.
• TP had more items, but SS's items were more versatile and they were used in more than just one area.
• TP's dungeons may have been bigger, giving them the illusion of more complexity, but most of its puzzles were derived from the same things you saw from OOT.
• SS took a more minimalist route with the dungeons but introduced entirely new puzzles such as motion sensing puzzles, the timeshift stones, moving around rooms and such.
• Both games were very linear. SS was just honest about it.
• TP had a bigger overworld, so it gave off the illusion of more freedom than you actually had. TP's overworld was every bit as much filled with bottlenecks, loading screens and closed off areas.
• TP gets a better reputation than SS due to nostalgia. Many people haven't played it since 2007, when standards for games were much more lax than 2011's.

 

[Mercedes]

SS and TP both had great highs, but SS had the lowest lows. So can't say I agree. Overall I found TP the more enjoyable title.

 

[AncientPoe]

Yeaaaahh, yeah… a lot of the bullets are you just stating your opinion as fact. Sorry. Also, if you judge TP, you have to use the Gamecube version since that's what it was actually designed for. Those controls were very tight. Also Twilight Princess may have had it's more linear segments, but it never punished you for being smarter than the game gave you credit for. There were many places where, if you arrived there, the thing you were looking for was waiting for you whether you visited the 'hint' for it or not. In Skyward Sword you could be punished for outthinking the game. For instance, finding the pinwheel. I spent time retracing my steps and tracking the thing down, finally figuring out where I'd seen it only to be completely incapable of manipulating it. I then had to go back to an obscure corner of Skyloft (which I hadn't previously felt the need to do, since I already saw/remembered the pillar with the missing pinwheel and didn't need my hand held for this) and talk to Not Mario to trigger my ability to pick something up. Sure, that hint is fine for some people, but you shouldn't HAVE to talk to him. If you find it on your own you should be able to just retrieve it. With two additional years of dev time over Twilight Princess that is inexcusable.

And people, sometimes grudgingly, say that Skyward Sword had such a better story and involving characters, but then complain about the beginning of Twilight Princess. But I for one feel the beginning was fine, I really liked it. The slow pace gives you time to explore your environment and figure out finer points in the controls, and exposes you to all the townspeople. It gives you the best story, story through gameplay, to show you exactly who Link is and where he fits in with this village and its people. You get a feel for the quaint life Link leads, and you get to know the kids, so that when you're wrested out of your happy little life and the happy little children get taken you actually care about them, which is the exact same thing SS did with Zelda.

 

[Iridescence]

Of course this is all my opinion - what else would it be?

 

[AncientPoe]

well no, some of it is fact. For instance, you made a point about music file types. That's legitimate. The SS soundtrack is amazing. (though you should check out Zreo's 3 and a half hour orchestral Twilight Princess on Youtube. If you like listening to Zelda music, you'll love it. Also, 'Zreo' isn't a typo. It stands for Zelda Reorchestrated.)

 

[Mercedes]

well no, some of it is fact. For instance, you made a point about music file types. That's legitimate. The SS soundtrack is amazing. (though you should check out Zreo's 3 and a half hour orchestral Twilight Princess on Youtube. If you like listening to Zelda music, you'll love it. Also, 'Zreo' isn't a typo. It stands for Zelda Reorchestrated.)

I don't see how that's a fact? If I had the choice of listening to an orchestral version of Baby by Justin Bieber or a pretty crappy quality version of Let It Be by The Beatles, I'd choose the latter every single time. So it's still a matter of opinion really.

 

[AncientPoe]

Well it's a fact because TP has midis. That's not subject to opinion. (whether you find that to be superior or not is subjective though…)

 

[Mercedes]

Well it's a fact because TP has midis. That's not subject to opinion. (whether you find that to be superior or not is subjective though…)

Well, yeah, but the thread is about SS being better than TP, not a random fact thread about both. So it came across as you saying it was 'fact' that SS had a better soundtrack because it was orchestral.

 

[AncientPoe]

Yeah, I can see your point. I just don't want OP to feel like all I'm doing is attacking what they're saying. They had some good points and some not good points. If the title had been "Why I Thought Skyward Sword Was Better Than Twilight Princess" then it would have been a different matter. I guess that when I see an empirical statement I expect it to be defended as such.

Also, i'mma just go ahead and plop this here.

 

[Dio]

TP has Midna who is a much better character than Fi and immensely more enjoyable company, and since you spend the entire game with your side character this is a huge deal.
TP's graphics arent good but SS's art style was ugly and some of the monsters looked unintimidating to downright ********. Just look at the SS Bokoblin design or the monsters inc reject Tentalus.
TP had the illusion of being an actual land, in SS there were puzzles all over the place it is impossible to think you are anywhere other than in a game world.
I found i was more into the world and characters of TP than SS. With TP having proper towns and settlements and SS only having Skyloft which I found an uninteresting place.
TP introduced the twili and gave detail on their history but SS introduced forgetable races such as the mogma or parella with no backstory behind them.
Ganondorf is a way more impactful villain than Demise.

 

[Farore's Chosen]

They both have their good and bad points, but I personally prefer TP better

Controls-TP wins this hands down, if the controls worked in SS like they were supposed to, you wouldn't have to recalibrate them everytime you sneezed or shifted, no matter where I try, there's no sweet spot for me and the motion controls were forced into everything whereas TP's was a more natural mix between control and motion control

Music-Both are a mixed bag, they have great tunes, like Fi's Farewell and Sacred Grove, they both have some tunes that make me wanna jam the sharp end of a pencil in my ears to blot it out like, Lanayru Mining Facility and Snowpeak Ruins

Sound effects-The sound effects are just fine. It's a tie

Personality of NPCs-Tie they have good and bland.

Story-The stories are typical Zelda cookie cutter fare, but TP edges out SS because Midna was no damsel in distress and Zelda was doing what she had to, in order to ensure her peoples safety. Wish they'd kept Ganon out of it though

Immersion-TP wins this, I am very immersed. In SS I have to stop constantly to recalibrate controls.

Graphics-They're both pretty in their own unique ways, I prefer TP's use of shadows and light and natural elements, I Feel like I'm walking through a beautiful forest or up on a snowy peak. But SS's use of pastels and softer lines are very appealing to me. This one is all down to personal taste. I like them both and both games NPCs are cartoonish and disproportionate, both game's enemies had their own unique styles that suited the world they were in very well.

Fun-I have a lot of fun with TP, I don't have much fun with SS, it hasn't frustrated me enough to wanna quit the game until I beat, but I seriously doubt I'll ever wanna play it again. Two dungeons are NOT enough to keep me coming back when my main feelings are frustration and anger, if SS had had TP's control schemes, hadn't forced them onto everything and hadn't bothered with the pitiful stamina meter I would have a lot more fun with this.

 

[Heroine of Winds]

Sorry, but as much as I respect your opinion, SS is pretty inferior when it comes to the execution in some areas.

The controls for the game were a nightmare compared to TP's. For example, I had a hard time trying to pull out the damn Master Sword when I first tried the game out. After that part, I knew right away there would be more stupidity concerning the controls.

SS may have better graphics than TP, but the character designs were way too goofy. The designs for some of the enemies (ex: the Bokoblins & Moblins) weren't even all that threatening to me. Say what you want concerning WW's enemies. At least some of them like the ReDeads look a lot more threatening despite the cartoony art style. For some of the main characters, Fi seriously falls under the uncanny valley due to her creepy expressionless face. Kaepora has a face that screams derpiness to me. I could go on, but I don't want to bore people with my character design rants.

The story for SS isn't all that great either. It felt like a crappy fanfiction in some places.

Last thing, the game is constantly holding your hand. I hate that this is the norm for some games these days. What if I want to figure things out on my own without an expressionless being telling me what to do all the time? WW may be easy, but at least the game didn't tell you what to do every ******* time. Same for TP.

Again, I respect the OP's opinion. I just don't think SS is better than TP except for the better graphics.

 

[Link Floyd]

No game is necessarily better than the other. Both TP and SS have their strengths and weaknesses.

TP Strenghts:

• Interesting items
• Exciting boss battles
• Great character development

TP Weaknesses

• Dull landscape
• Dungeons tended to be too easy

SS Strenghts

• Once again, interesting items
• Great character development
• Awesome storyline

SS Weaknesses

• Skyloft could have had more places to explore
• Motion controls (just my opinion.)

 

[Seth]

I think they were both weak, mediocre games.

TP had the slowest start to any Zelda game I can remember. Not only does it take forever to really start playing as it is after all the opening exposition and fishing and crap, you are then locked out from massive areas of the game for a LONG time. It's one thing when it takes some time to open certain areas but in TP it felt like it took forever just to get far enough in the story to actually see anything. The story was disjointed and felt rushed. The color palate was way to dark. Midna was grating.

I did like the dungeons, and despite the dreary color scheme I actually really did like the big over world and areas to explore (once you put in the time to actually unlock it).

SS gave me the smallest sense of exploration of any Zelda game. I hated the small over world and hallways system. I want an open world, a living breathing place, not a giant outdoor dungeon. The controls weren't awful, but they were annoying. I don't like motion controls. Fi is easily the most annoying companion. Too many repetitive boss battles. The Sky was a cool concept, if it wasn't so empty. The story was weird, it started off very well but by the end it made no sense whatsoever. The way time travel works in that game just doesn't make much sense and seems to change depending on the moment.

i did really like to collection and upgrading aspect of SS though, the color palate was very bright and colorful and the art style was unique and enjoyable.

Sure, they aren't *bad* games, but they aren't great. If they didn't have Zelda in their title, no one would still be talking about them much today. They were strictly average, mediocre games.

 

[Dio]

I think they were both weak, mediocre games.
Sure, they aren't *bad* games, but they aren't great. If they didn't have Zelda in their title, no one would still be talking about them much today. They were strictly average, mediocre games.

Mediocre? TP was a superb game that refined and improved upon a lot of the concepts introduced in OOT (THE most critically acclaimed game of all time and therefore a standard against which other games can be compared), there are millions who love that game which is still going strong today. Not because the series has become mediocre but because people enjoy playing it. The gameplay is fun. I would consider Zelda to have the most fun gameplay out of any series. People love the story, the atmosphere and the characters that is certainly not mediocrity at all, that is excellence.
Zelda's core gameplay hasn't really changed much in the 3D titles since OOT, it has only been refined and usually for the better. The difficulty could do with upping and more exploration would improve the experiences but there is not a 3d title in Zelda that I would give any less than a 9/10 for.